One More Chance
by Noriko Nanahara
Summary: It's one year after the events of SDR2. It's a quiet, solemn day, and Hajime Hinata has a strange dream, which provides him with one last chance to say what he was unable to say before. [Hinata/Nanami, one-shot, major SDR2 spoilers. Do not read unless you're fully spoiled!]


**Title:** One More Chance  
**Fandom: **Super Dangan Ronpa 2  
**Pairing:** Hajime Hinata/Chiaki Nanami.  
**Summary:** Just a short drabble set exactly one year after the events of SDR2. Hinata reflects on who he lost, and ends up having a strange dream.  
**Rating: **PG  
**Warnings:** Massive SDR2 spoilers. Do not read unless you've completed the game/are fully spoiled.  
**Comment:** Hinanami makes me cry, so I wanted to write a sad fanfic. Oops.

If Hajime Hinata said that he enjoyed this current lifestyle, he would be classified as a liar. However, he knew it was the only lifestyle where he and his friends could live in peace. The rest of the world, whom were now regaining hope with help of the future foundation, still held onto some hatred for him. He didn't blame them. It was impossible to deny that he had been a major catalyst in the kick starter of "The Worst, Most Despair-Inducing Incident in the History of Mankind".

But that didn't mean that life on this island was all that joyful. Hinata did his best to be grateful, he really did.

It was hard to enjoy it, though, when this island was an exact replica of the one where he had experienced those horrid, traumatic events. Watching as his friends died one by one, until there were only five of them remaining. The overwhelming smell of blood, the fear in their eyes as they got accused of being the culprit, and the despairing reactions of the others: All memories that remained in his mind as he mindlessly wandered the island.

The burden was made slightly easier after they woke up. For all of the survivors, their one source of hope is the remaining capsules that had yet to open. Day after day, Sonia, Souda, Kuzuryuu, and Owari watch over the their friends, whose states were currently comatose. Hinata did spend an awful lot of time in that quiet, almost peaceful room, but there was one thing that always pushed him to leave after a mere few hours.

It was the missing sixteenth capsule.

Hinata never lied to himself; he found it pointless. Nevertheless, there was always that familiar pang of loneliness and disappointment when he saw that Monobear had told the truth that day; there was one person on that island who was nothing more than an AI. That day, he refused to believe it had been Chiaki Nanami, who had undoubtedly become his closest ally on that island. Chiaki Nanami, the same slow-paced, kindhearted yet intelligent girl who was the only one who would never be woken up.

Hinata strolled down the pathway of the main island, his brows furrowing upon thinking of her once more. He knew that thinking about Nanami too much wouldn't end well. The Future Foundation aimed to keep this group's hopefulness as high as possible, and losing Nanami didn't exactly help that. Every time her name was mentioned, in context to the final execution, it would end in a tense atmosphere, and an uneasy silence. It also became uneasy inside Hinata's mind. Today seemed to be worse than ever, though.

He couldn't believe it had already been a year. Thankfully, many of those who had "died" were now resting peacefully in the main facility on the island. Hinata's mind kept going back to Nanami, however. Nanami, who wouldn't return. Nanami, who did her best to inspire hope to a group who had fallen into despair.

Approaching his cottage, Hinata wondered how the others were doing. He had often seen them in awful states since waking up. Sonia was the most prone to it, but he had kept the secret of Kuzuryuu's occasional sobs in the middle of the night. Hinata tended to be the first one for any of them to call. He had been incredibly shaken up mentally when he first awakened, but quickly became a source of comfort in the group. It wasn't a role he was particularly used to, but he had grown rather fond of the four survivors, and ultimately decided that the role was acceptable.

None of them could ever claim they ever saw Hinata do so much as cry since the early days of leaving the virtual world. It's not that he didn't miss them, or regretted his past actions, but he merely decided that staying strong was the only way to get through all this.

Once he opened the door to the cottage, Hinata immediately closed it and slumped down onto his bed. The chirping of evening cicadas was low and distant, providing the only sound upon the almost abandoned island.

He knew already that wherever the other survivors were, they weren't making much noise. Souda had invited him to a small gathering at the nearby hotel, but Hinata had declined. Given the occasion, he decided that he'd much rather be alone with his thoughts for today, and reckoned that the majority of them wished for similar.

Between the lull of the cicadas, and his thoughts that were beginning to become more relaxed, the boy's eyelids closed, and after a few minutes, fell into a light sleep.

When he opened his eyes again, much to his surprise, his senses were fully alert. Hinata stared down at his body, and brushed his fingers over his shirt. It felt as realistic as it would if he were awake. In fact, he did know he wasn't awake. Feeling confused, he was completely clueless to understand why this was like anything but a dream. The only thing that made the scenario remotely dream-like was the fact that the pavements, the sky and every other detail of his surrounding was completely white. Wherever this was, it was far away from the island.

After a few seconds of looking around, Hinata's eyes rested on her. Then, they widened.

_It can't be… She's completely wiped from existence,_ he thought, feeling his legs begin to shake. It felt impossible to take a step forward without falling, but at the same time, he wanted to run straight to her. There was no mistaking that cat-shaped hoodie, accompanied by a pink, similar-shaped rucksack, and that pale pink skirt. She appeared to be kneeling, watching over something. Hinata could only watch for several seconds before doing anything.

"Na-" he began, but realized his tone was too quiet. As if she were an easily frightened small animal, Hinata was afraid to raise his voice, but he knew he needed to.

_"Nanami!"_ he exclaimed, shock still evident in his voice. Running as fast as his legs would take him, Chiaki Nanami finally took notice of him. She stood up, her gaze returning to the console in front of her.

Afraid that she would disappear before he made it to where she was, he picked up the pace, and only slowed when he was incredibly close. Hinata's nose brushed against Nanami's, the sensation feeling just as real as when he touched his shirt. _It can't be. Don't get your hopes too high. It's a dream, it has to be a dream. _

"Hinata-kun?" Nanami mumbled after a few seconds. During the past year, her voice was becoming more and more of a distant memory to Hinata, but hearing it again, it made him feel like it was only a few hours ago that he last heard it.

His mouth dropped open, and closed again trying to think of what to say. There was so much he wanted to say to her since waking up. There was the matter of regaining hope, the fact that he had now left his despair-filled past behind, and how each day felt like a day closer to seeing the others wake up. Hinata was at a loss; how do you put something like this into words? Nanami was staring at him with that dazed gaze, but the curiosity was evident. _Is it even possible to put anything into words right now?_

As if his body had decided on the answer before his mind could have, Hinata pulled the smaller girl into a tight, gripping hug. He pulled her close, as if it would prevent her from ever leaving his side again. Nanami let out a little "Umph", and stood in the same position for several seconds, before realizing that it'd be a good idea to return it. Her touch was much softer, but contained the same warmth.

"I've missed you," Hinata said simply. His own behaviour shocked him incredibly at the moment; usually, he was quite hesitant to physical contact, or blatantly admitting feelings like this. But this world felt so _real, _and he had been absolutely certain that an opportunity like this would never happen again. If he didn't make his feelings known now, or did everything he wished to do, he knew he'd regret it for an unthinkable length of time.

"...I've missed you too. It's been a long time," Nanami replied quietly. Hinata pulled away slightly, to see her face. An angelic sort of smile could be seen, the kind that Hinata had gotten so used to before waking up.

Before he could open his mouth once more, Nanami stared up at him, before pulling away. She looked as if she were deep in thought. Hinata was about to ask what she was thinking about, when she began to speak.

"Do you remember the last time we talked? I promised that I would always be cheering you on from somewhere. I did my best to keep that promise... You've all been doing really great-" Nanami began, but paused. Hinata took that as his opportunity to speak.

"So you've seen us? I've become a completely new person. Everything that happened in the past, it's gone, it'll never repeat. And I've wanted you to see that for so long-"

"You're still upset about something, aren't you?" she asked suddenly, her tone somber. Hinata was taken off guard, but nodded. He expected her to know what was wrong, but she remained quiet. It struck him that she was expecting him to admit his sorrow aloud.

Sighing deeply, Hinata kept his eyes on Nanami as he spoke. "It's my fault that you died. If it wasn't for me sneaking in that program, things would have turned out incredibly different, and... and no one would be in this state. You'd still be here, everyone would be awake, and... And even though that trial was set up to make you the culprit, it was still my fault in the end. You'll never be able to come back, don't you see why I'm not completely happy?!"

Hearing Hinata blurt out the majority of what he had been bottling up for the past year, Nanami slumped her shoulders as if a great secret had just been revealed. _How long have you been watching us for...? Did you know about this the entire time?, _he thought, watching the girl look more like her usual sleepy self.

"I guess I can see why... Hey, you know that you would have had to leave me behind no matter what, right? I didn't really mind dying, in the end. All I wanted was to see you all regain hope, and that worked out pretty well," Nanami explained slowly, carefully choosing her words. "Please don't carry that burden anymore."

Listening to her words, Hinata was struck with the realization once more that this was only a dream, and when he woke up, it would be right back to waiting on every other person who was involved in those events to wake up, except her.

"Can you stay?" he questioned simply. He wished to elaborate more on the matter, but Nanami seemed to understand what he meant anyway.

She shook her head. Although Hinata was already well aware of the answer, he still felt a horrid feeling in his stomach, knowing that this would possibly be the last time he'd ever get to have a memorable conversation with her.

"I want to... That can't happen, though. I don't think I'm supposed to be able to talk to you anymore... I think this is what it feels like to cheat in a difficult game," Nanami pondered. Her voice was calm, and much more accepting than Hinata felt.

He took a step back, simply lowering his head. In a way, he knew that was going to be the answer from the very moment this dream started. Many times, though, he couldn't help but feel that this wasn't a dream, but an inexplicable meeting caused by the sub-conscience. He couldn't help but feel as if Nanami really was still there, watching over all of them as they awaited the others to wake up. _I was right. Nanami did exist. She still does. Just not my most preferred way._

Closing his eyes, another thought began to grow as the seconds ticked by: This dream couldn't last much longer. He knew it wouldn't last forever. If this was his last opportunity to speak to her... He had to make everything known that he couldn't say before her death.

"I love you."

Hinata knew it was ridiculous; she was an AI. But, the time on that island, she had been as real to him as the others. Could those feelings, which felt much more than platonic, have carried over into the real world? Through the past year, and constant thoughts of Chiaki Nanami, he couldn't help but feel that it wasn't so ridiculous after all to admit this.

Nanami blinked a few times, but showed no real shock on her face. He felt that she wasn't expecting him to blurt that out so suddenly, but at the same time, wasn't particularly stunned by the way he spoke. Hinata knew already that nothing could come of it, whether she returned his feelings or not, but he couldn't keep putting off what he needed to say.

Then, Nanami stepped towards him once again, and stretched up onto her toes. Hinata felt his eyes widen. _She isn't really going to, is she...?, _he thought. She didn't do what he was preparing for. Instead, she pulled him down into another embrace, much gentler this time, and buried her face in his hair.

"I love you too... I think," she replied nonchalantly, but the elated tone of her muffled voice couldn't be mistaken. _You choose now to say "I think"?!_

Hinata knew that despite his outward annoyance, that inside her answer was perfect for him. He had finally made his feelings known, and had achieved something he was coming to believe would be impossible; meeting Nanami one last time. He also knew it was the last.

"Please don't lose hope from now on, Hinata-kun. I'll find a way to show you that I'm still here for all of you... I'll do my best," she promised. After her promise, Hinata felt a warm sensation just above his ear, as Nanami pressed her lips against the said spot. They remained in that position for a moment, before she let him go.

"One last thing, Hajime. Don't forget me."

As the last word left Nanami's mouth, everything returned to black. Once again, Hinata heard the low hum of the evening cicadas outside the window. Opening his eyes, he sat up slowly, beginning to tremble.

It was then that he noticed another sound accompanied the cicadas; the hurried sound of knocking on his door. That was then followed by the impatient voice of Owari, who opened the door without further delay. Still attempting to return to reality, Hinata almost failed to notice the pale, wide-eyed expressions on Owari's and Sonia's faces.

"Hinata-san! You have to come with us this instant! You won't believe this, but it is truly a miracle! Please, will you follow us?" Sonia babbled excitedly.

"What's going on, exactly?" Hinata asked, his voice hoarse.

"Togami's woken up! He pretty much woke up, like, a half hour after you fell asleep. Souda's trying to get in contact with the Future Foundation right now. C'mon, already!" Owari explained, stealing quick glances at the door, wanting to get back to the scene immediately.

_Togami?! But... We've been waiting for a year for any progress. Even the Future Foundation was beginning to doubt they'd wake up. Why now? ...It couldn't be because of that, could it?_

"I need to see this for myself. Let me get ready first. You two go ahead, I'll catch up in a minute," he urged them. Usually, Owari would put up more of a fight, but this time the two girls simply shared a silent agreement to go ahead, waved to him, and left the cottage.

His trembling began again, and he had to clutch at the bedsheets to ease it. There was no way this was simply a coincidence; somehow that dream hadn't been a dream at all. Nanami had been honest; she showed them their first proper sign of hope in over a year.

"Chiaki... Thank you. Help us with the others, too," he said quietly. The feelings of relief, hope, and the wish to meet her just one more time, became overwhelming, until it was too much.

And then, for the first time since waking up, Hajime Hinata burst into tears.


End file.
